Common law is incompatible with EU criminal jurisdiction

In Brussels, one or two Sir Humphrey types are still talking about which EU justice and home affairs policies we might want to opt back into after exercising our block exemption. But the debate in Britain has moved on. It is unthinkable that the Coalition would now accept EU jurisdiction in an area where it didn't already apply: a remarkable shift from two years ago, when the Home Secretary did precisely that, prompting Labour's Chris Bryant to offer her honorary membership of the European Movement.

Those who say that an In/Out referendum is not on the agenda, or that the repatriation of powers will never happen, should reflect on how thoroughly the atmosphere has changed in those two years. Think where we might be in two more years.

There are still some commentators who claim that Eurosceptics oppose judicial harmonisation because they are obsessive rather than because they have practical concerns. I have done my best to address them in the 60-second clip above.